


When in Rome

by whatsyeroffer



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, general danvers monthly, rom com AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 08:31:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12104775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatsyeroffer/pseuds/whatsyeroffer
Summary: After slipping away from a conference in Rome, Italy Alex stumbles upon the Fountain of Love. She attempts to bargain with Venus before fishing a couple coins out of the water. Then Astra, the newly-bad-guy-gone-good and her smokin’ hot crush, suddenly shows up and Alex thinks she’s finally getting a lucky break. She returns to National City and suffers through the relentless pursuits of Barbara the Lady Beast and Maxwell Lord, while trying to build an actual relationship with Astra.Eventually Alex learns of the legend explaining that taking a coin from the fountain will cause the owner of the coin to fall in love with the thief. Turns out stealing from Venus isn’t such a bright idea…





	When in Rome

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought I'd finish this between Hurricane Irma knocking out my power and internet. Then I moved on top of that mess and blah.
> 
> When in Rome is a wild movie btw.

International Conference in Rome, Italy: 

The meeting between the DEO and several allied countries’ equivalents included a productive five-minute debriefing on the status of high profile rogue aliens before the Italian Director announced the celebration could commence. Apparently, Henshaw and the other Directors and Seconds had expected this.

However he had neglected to inform Agent Alex Danvers, who was sent in his place. So here she was more than a little surprised at the less than formal Conference. She now understood her boss’s distain towards attending such meetings, if one could even call it that. The foreign commanders wore suits and talked in groups, holding drinks in one hand and cigars in the other. There was even catering and light music playing in the background. This was just a party, an excuse to complement and brag to other Directors...

_Tracking down and apprehending hostiles would be way more fun._

Alex played polite for half the night, feigned interest in the conversation topic as she sipped on red wine. She glanced at her watch and felt it was late enough that she could excuse herself. She shook hands with the Italian Director one last time and then left the conference room.

A trek across the lavish hotel then a short elevator ride later, Alex sighed wearily as she entered her room. “I’m never doing this again.” She swore to herself.

She shrugged off her suit jacket and hung it on the back of the small dining table chair. She dug into her suitcase, which had been thrown onto the couch, to pull out a flask. The hotel’s complimentary liquor was emptied into the container and she plopped down at the table by the open window.

Alex flipped through the travel brochures left on the table. She hadn’t even had a chance to look at a map since she had arrived earlier this morning. The Italian Director’s Second had practically abducted her the moment she walked in the hotel. While she had been able to see some of the ruins of Rome including the Colosseum, where their Headquarters was hiding, Alex was a little put out her first visit to the famous city was for work.

She couldn’t even explore later because her flight was bright and early in the morning. Looking at the time, she figured 1 am was an acceptable curfew. She had a couple hours to walk around…

Alex flipped open the map, taking a lazy swig from her flask. The hotel was in the center of the map with various tourist spots marked around the city. Most were further away in another district, too far to walk to on tired feet, but there was apparently a rather famous fountain just a couple roundabouts down from the hotel. She read the description:

_La fontana de amore._

_Venus the Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Pleasure stands proud in the center of her fountain. She brings good luck to couples that kiss in the picturesque square. She also grants love to the hopeful souls that toss coins into the water._

Alex didn’t have anyone to kiss nor any coins to toss in, but the walk would be nice enough. And hell, maybe Venus would take pity on her and help her out anyway.

_Gods knew she needed all the luck she could get._

Alex placed the half-empty flask in her back pocket, grabbed her keycard and exited the room. She wandered out of the hotel. The night air was humid, warm and the random breeze carried the smell of old stones and coffee. Because of the uneven cobblestone sidewalk, Alex was glad she decided not to wear heels this trip.

She drank from her flask and admired the architecture of the old buildings, the clear sky above. Rome was a beautiful city, an idyllic vacation spot. It was late enough that the streets were mostly empty, save for the random car or strolling couple.

Two women passed on the opposite side of the street, they were giggling and falling into each other, their hands linked between them. Alex smiled, they were cute but it made her burn slightly with envy…

This city was romance itself; it wasn’t hard to get swept up in it.

Being uncomplicatedly single for two whole years had been a blessing in disguise. What Alex wouldn’t give to go back to when work was all she needed, when all she had to do was clock in and talk to Kara; her life had been pretty easy. She didn’t have time to worry about dates or even developing feelings for someone ‘cause she was so damn busy but now?

Now she felt stupid for imagining herself and _Astra_ walking the sidewalks of Rome hand-in-hand.

General Astra had abandoned her army and joined forces with Kara and the DEO after Non had defected with Indigo to enact some diabolical plan of genocide. Astra had wanted to save humanity, save the Earth- not kill everyone and everything. She had shown up, half dead from Non’s betrayal, and she willingly handed over the Omegahedron.

Even if Astra wouldn’t voice it, she was still weary being in the base because of the torture she had endured last time. She had stayed close to Kara, who was clinging to her battered body anyway, and Astra insisted she would only allow Alex to doctor her up. A few days under the healing solar rays was all she had needed, but taking care of her had brought them _close._ What had started as tense conversations intermingled with stressful flirting had dissolved into a mutual trust. And, subsequently, their closeness is what caused Alex’s insane crush to develop.

Once Supergirl and the DEO had managed to defeat Indigo and Non for good, and after recovering from her injuries, Astra had helped the team capture the more volatile prisoners that had survived the battle. The former enemy was on probation with the organization, running missions until Henshaw deemed her ‘reformed enough’ to be trusted on her own. Kara was charged with being her handler, but she often asked Alex to cover for her.

So between sparring and fighting back-to-back in battle and going home to _game nights_ and _movie marathons…_ Of course Alex had a crush on Astra.

Astra was intelligent, but she couldn’t understand idioms. She was brave, but she took after Kara and wouldn’t watch scary movies. She was honest without tact, which would piss Alex off sometimes and they’d fight. And even if she was somewhat infuriating with her competitiveness, Alex matched her attitude.

Astra was _stubborn_ , about as stubborn as Alex was, and it made missions harder. She would jump in front of Alex at any danger and while patching her up, Alex would hiss that she doesn’t have to keep taking bullets for her just because she’s human.

They hung out when Kara was out with Cat or at work. And when they were sitting close on the couch, Alex only sometimes wondered what it would be like to kiss Astra…

Her pining was cut short as she finally stumbled upon the fountain of love. Venus did stand proud in the middle of the running water. She glanced down, like she really saw Alex.

“Goddess of love, huh?” Alex asked. She took a sip from her flask as she approached. Slightly tipsy, she bargained with the statue. “Look, I don’t have any coins for you.”

She sat down on the edge of the fountain. Change gleamed in the unnaturally bright blue water. “Seems you have plenty though.”

Alex dipped her hand in the water. “Venus, what the hell am I supposed to do about liking Astra?” She swirled her hand around. “She’s too…’

Too good. Too out of her league. The situation itself too complicated. Astra was Kara’s aunt! Alex and Astra weren’t actually related of course, but she could still picture her sister freaking out. On top of all that, she was convinced that Astra wasn’t interested in her _like that_.

The statue just continued to stare down. Alex blew out a breath and changed the subject. She spotted an old copper penny just below her hand. She scrapped it from the bottom and picked it up. Thunder rumbled in the distance. “So, this guy? What did you give him for this cheap offering?”

Alex glanced up at Venus and then back down at the pool of water. Almost out of reach, she saw a solid gold coin. She picked it up and held it into the light. “Damn.”

Lightning flashed in the sky, but she didn’t notice.

Alex put the two coins on her thigh and lazily leaned back; she had one leg up on top of the fountain’s edge. Her hand dipped back in the water. Finally, her fingertips grazed another coin and she picked it up. It felt slimy and it weighed much less than normal.

A shooting star passed overhead.

“Huh,” Alex studied the coin for a moment, trying to identify the markings. Definitely an alien language.

That’s when Astra swooped down from the sky, blowing up a small breeze as she flew by, and landed on the other side of the fountain. She watched the agent for a moment, amused.

Alex thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye and she nearly dropped the coin she was holding when she saw, “Astra?”

“Hello Alexandra.” Astra raised an eyebrow as Alex pocketed the coins. She chose not to comment on the theft. “I have not been in Italy for quite some time.” She strolled over to the human. “Though this place does not ever change.”

Alex stood and capped her flask. Confused, she asked “Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?”

“I am not breaking our terms,” She assured. “The Director allowed me to join you after I completed my latest mission.”

“Why would-“

Anticipating the question, she answered “My niece has negotiated new terms. A tracking device was planted in my shoulder and as a formality, you were renamed my current keeper.” She grinned. “I did not protest the arrangement.”

Alex fought to keep her expression indifferent as butterflies fluttered in her stomach. That meant Astra would have to stay at her place, that they would have to spend even more time together… Realizing she hadn’t said anything, Alex cleared her throat and wiped her still wet had on her slacks. “You’ve already missed the conference.”

She turned and began walking back towards the hotel and Astra fell in step beside her. “That is fine. I wanted to see you.”

_She flew halfway around the world… That wasn’t just for me._

Alex looked over and Astra was more relaxed than Alex had ever seen her. She nudged her side, knowing it wouldn’t faze the Kryptonian. “How did you like flying?”

Astra smiled. “I enjoyed the freedom.”

Alex nodded and the two shared an amicable silence as they walked the quiet streets back to the hotel. It was almost exactly what she had wanted earlier that night. They might not have been falling all over each other, but this was nice. This felt right for them.

\--

Alex yawned as she dug through her suitcase for her sleepwear. She knew Astra had traveled extensively during her time on Earth, mostly to recruit rogue aliens for her army, but she had apparently enjoyed some sight-seeing.

“When were you last in Italy?”  Alex asked, walking into the bathroom to change but keeping the door open to hear her.

The bed creaked before Astra answered, “Two rotations ago.”

Alex exited the bathroom, fighting a smile at seeing Astra awkwardly seated at the edge of the bed. She didn’t even know the General could _do_ awkward. Alex flipped off the lights and the room fell pitch black. The old city had no lights and she didn’t give her eyes time to adjust to the darkness, knowing where she needed to go.

She maneuvered her way to the bed, surprised when something tripped her up, and even more surprised when strong hands caught her hips to steady her.

“Careful Alexandra.” Astra’s voice was a whisper, teasing.

Alex tried to laugh despite the heat rushing to her face. She decided to ungracefully crawl onto the bed. As she settled in, she played back the scene. She knew nothing had been in her path… Astra had been sitting on the corner of the bed and there wasn’t anything left lying around she could’ve tripped on…

_Unless Astra had tripped her on purpose, but why would she?_

Alex’s hips still burned from Astra’s touch.

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she shifted to look down at the foot of the bed. The General was missing. Her eyes scanned the room until she found the woman leaned against the couch, attempting to sleep sitting up.

Alex couldn’t make any sense of it.

* * *

After a long, tedious flight Alex was finally back in National City. She tiredly passed a hand over her face. Sleeping on a plane was next to impossible so she looked forward to finally returning home and taking a nap for an hour or two. All she needed to do was check in at the DEO, even though J’onn had already called _several_ times for updates, and turn in the files the Italians had graciously provided.

It was a little passed 0400 and the DEO was deserted except for Vasquez monitoring the channels with her assistant. Astra sat bored at the debriefing table and J’onn glared up at the monitors in front of him.

“You didn’t warn me that the conference was going to be a party.” Alex grumbled, handing the stacks of paperwork over to him.

“I thought you would’ve enjoyed yourself.”

Alex watched, arms clasped behind her, as he shifted through the papers. The room was eerily quiet except for the clacking of the keyboards and the shuffling of paperwork.

Then a loud roar ripped echoed from the direction of the holding cells.

“What was that?” J’onn and Alex asked at the same time.

Vasquez had the cameras on the hallway in a minute, while Astra flew to the doorway to seal it shut.

“The Beta Khund is loose again.” Vasquez informed, sounding confused.

J’onn huffed. “How is that possible?”

“Again?” Alex questioned as she loaded the shotgun J’onn had armed her with.

“She managed to escape yesterday afternoon as well.”

The doors to the base were pried open and Alex was immediately impressed with the alien’s strength. Astra shot lasers from her eyes, but besides a pained growl, the monster wasn’t deterred. Cloth burned, revealing dark red blood and the white bone of her arm.

The beast towered easily over seven-feet tall, face marred heavily with deep scars. There were several sedative darts sticking out of her chest.

Astra flew over to punch the lady beast but the alien smacked her away like she was gnat. Alex took aimed and fired, but that just made the alien howl in anger. Eyes crazed, the beast locked in on Alex and ran towards her. J’onn was quick to step in front of her, but he was smack away next.

The last thing Alex expected as she prepared to potentially blow the alien’s brains out was for the monster to crash to her knees and skid to a stop in front of her.

The alien yanked the gun from her, threw it to the side which nailed Astra in the head and sent her flying back into J’onn. The lady beast _gently_ stopped Alex’s oncoming punch before pulling the hand down to place a kiss to the back of it. Then finally the monster succumbed to the tranquilizers and fell sideways onto the floor passed out.

J’onn looked as disoriented as Alex felt. On Astra’s forehead was a clear outline of where the butt of the gun had hit her. Alex lifted her alien-slobber covered hand and pulled a face.

From across the room Vasquez asked, “What the hell just happened?”

\--

After _another_ hour of paperwork, completed in her office where she tossed the coins onto her desk, Alex was allowed to leave. Astra stayed behind to help secure a more reinforced cell for the escaped alien.

Alex sighed, flicking on the lights to her apartment, and set her suitcase by the door. When she looked up, her jaw nearly hit the floor. Just about every surface of her apartment was covered in bouquets of red roses. She reopened the door and looked at the apartment number to confirm this was really _her_ place she had stumbled into.

“Who the hell…” Alex shut and locked the door and went to the kitchen’s bar to look at one of the flower arrangements.

_Reason #53: Alexandra Danvers-Lord has a nice ring to it._

Alex choked out some inhuman noise of disgust. She yanked her hand away from the note like it would catch on fire, knowing Max it was entirely possible.

“What the actual fuck.” Alex growled. She pulled her phone out, not even caring the sun was just now rising and settled on the contact ‘ _Douchebag Lord’_ before pressing the call button.

It rang all of one time.

“Ah, Agent Danvers.” His self-assured tone cooed out. “I assume you’re finally back in town?”

Alex seethed. “Max, I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I’m not interested. Nor will I ever be interested.”

Max sucked in a breath. “Oh, that hurts.”

“Not as much as two broken kneecaps.” She warned. “I don’t want you or anyone else entering my apartment again, got it?”

“Whatever you want.” He huffed.

Alex spat out, “Creep.” And then hung up.

She suspiciously looked around her living room, convinced a surveillance camera had been planted somewhere. She sent a quick text to Vasquez about debugging her apartment before she crawled into bed, still wearing her civilian clothes, and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Alex awoke to the smell of coffee later that morning. Bleary eyes blinked open, trying to look across the room. Some of the stupid flowers had been moved and from her kitchen, the coffeemaker hummed quietly. She reached for her gun and stood, checking around her apartment.

If it was Max, he was going to get a bullet through his foot.

But there was no one in her apartment, which was almost as unnerving.

“Alexandra.” Astra greeted, walking in through the balcony. Her windswept hair wild and green eyes beautiful. She had a newspaper tucked under her arm like an old man.

Alex blinked and lowered her gun. “Uh, hey Astra.” She placed her firearm on the table and walked to the kitchen to pour a much-needed cup of coffee for herself. “Thanks.” She mumbled. “For the coffee, I mean.”

Astra settled into one of the dining room chairs and snapped the newspaper open dramatically like Alex had only seen in movies. “No trouble at all.” She lied. Alex would never know she had absolutely wrecked the coffeemaker on her first attempt at working the machine and replaced it with an identical one.

Still, she smiled coyly and commented, “I completed a scan of your apartment as Agent Vasquez ordered. It is clean.”

Alex let out a sigh of relief. “I was wondering why you were here.” She joked.

“To spend time with you as well.” Astra admitted lazily. “After seeing the number of flowers decorating your apartment, I have decided I need to try harder.”

Alex settled beside her at the table, head propped up in her palm. “What are you talking about?”

Astra gestured to the roses around them. “To compete with your other suitor.”

Alex aspirated her coffee, sputtering and coughing.

The Kryptonian watched on, very concerned, until Alex could compose herself to practically shout “I don’t have-“ She paused her denial at Astra’s raised eyebrow. So she quickly adjusted her answer. “This was just Maxwell Lord just being weird.”

“They are lovely flowers though,” Astra conceded.

Alex shrugged. She supposed if anyone else had gotten her flowers it would’ve been a nice gesture. But roses from Maxwell Lord? Asshole extraordinaire?

_Yikes._

She lazily took a sip of her coffee wondering how she was going to get rid of all the flowers. She nearly choked on her drink again when Astra’s hand covered her own.

“I lack any knowledge of typical human courtships aside from those portrayed in movies. However, I must confess that for far too long I have been intrigued by you, Alexandra. I am quite enamored.”

Alex’s heart was pounding at the confession. Her confession was completely out of the blue, though _definitely_ not unwelcomed. Astra smiled at her for a moment, squeezed her hand, and then went back to reading the paper.

Snapping out of her dumbfounded state, “Astra?”

“Yes?” She didn’t even look up.

“I, uh. I like you too.” She said lamely. Then she suddenly lifted from the table. “I’m going for a run.”

Astra nodded, knowing the other woman probably needed time to process.

Alex changed into jogging clothes and felt a weird flutter when she exited the bathroom and Astra’s eyes _traveled_ up and down her body.

“I’ll, um, be back soon.” Alex said; though she enjoyed the sight of Astra at her table so casually checking her out.

She jogged across town, hating the exhaust of cars. She let her thoughts wander to Astra and she had to hold back a goofy grin. So Astra _did_ like her! Venus had come through after all…

The noticeable difference in air quality at the park was a relief. She took a deep breath of the cleaner air. And then she noticed two burly men stationed at the front of the park. They coms in their ears and their arms were crossed over their chest. Alex jogged through them, surprised to hear them yell at someone _else_ for trying to enter the park.

She turned her head at the man’s “No entry allowed.”

She ran a bit faster through the completely empty park.

_What the hell?_

Alex ran the outer loop of the park before crossing to the inside. As she came upon the park’s fountain, her eyes narrowed.

_Maxwell Lord._

He stood in front of the fountain, arms clasped in front of him. He smirked when she approached. She stopped a good distance away, trying to control her breathing as his eyes feel on her chest. He finally met her gaze again and opened his arms to gesture to the park.

“How do you like it?” He looked so proud of himself. “I know you like to run here most mornings so I thought: Let’s buy Agent Danvers National City’s Park.”

_He’s crazy._

Alex tried to control her annoyance, she knew Max loved it when she went rough, rogue agent on him, but she was really struggling not to drown him in the dirty water behind him. “Max, what the hell are you doing?”

“Well now you can run whenever you want without having to worry about other people getting in your way.”

He took a step closer and Alex gave him a warning glare. “Leave me alone before you’re back in your cell at the DEO.”

Max grinned. “Ah, my display case.” He faked fondness. “Where you show me off… Where I can be your good boy.”

Alex bit back a horrified scream at his words and then landed a kick at his head. He fell back into the fountain. She hissed, “Don’t ever talk to me again or you’re going to be a missing persons case.”

“Noted.” He said, wiping water from his face.

She glared at him before resuming her run, fighting back the nausea.

\--

Alex shuddered as she shoved all the flowers in a recyclable yard bag. Astra was going to take the bags of flowers off to the woods where they could decompose naturally.

“It seems rather wasteful.” Astra commented but her pleased smile betrayed her words.

Alex snorted. “It’s better than burning them.” She didn’t mention meeting him this morning.

“This is the better option then.”

Astra returned minutes later with a twig caught in her hair. Alex was on the couch, booting up her gaming device. Kara didn’t have any gaming systems so Astra was curious.

“What is this?”

“Catharsis at its best.” She said as she loaded up a violent video game. It was a welcomed distraction from how close Astra was seated next to her.

Astra watched, almost appalled, when the character on screen blew up several cars and knifed random pedestrians. “By Rao, Alexandra.”

Alex finally looked over and paused the game. She snickered and pulled a twig from Astra’s hair. “I can play something else? You wanna try?”

The Kryptonian made a face, but she scooted closer nonetheless. Alex smiled, their thighs flush against each other’s . “Kara likes this one.”

It was a simple racing game. Alex went over the controls with her and Astra made sure not to grip the controller too tightly. Astra shifted forward in her seat, watching the screen. The race started and-

“You’re holding the wrong button.” Alex laughed.

The older woman fumbled with the controller then Alex settled her hand on Astra’s and pressed her index finger onto hers and the car shot forward.

“There.” She grinned and turned her attention back to the screen. Astra was ramming straight into a wall. “You gotta turn too.”

Astra bit back a huff when Alex reached over, thumb covering Astra’s, to change the direction of the car.

The Kryptonian was in dead last but she had almost caught up by the end. Alex leaned against her, giggling. “This is not a relaxing hobby.”

“But it’s funny.” Alex shot back.

Astra grumbled. “For one of us.” Then she turned to the screen as it announced ‘Ready’ and began counting down again. “I do not wish to race again.”

“Too bad, General.” Alex said, “Four races and then you can quit.”

Astra moved quick, just before the light turned yellow. Alex’s hand was forced across Astra’s lap and Alex held the controller. Alex’s face was smooshed against her shoulder from the unexpected move.

“This way we can both play.”

She nodded, incidentally nuzzling her face into Astra’s bicep. Astra shifted, wrist bent awkwardly, but it allowed the bottom of Alex’s hand to rest more comfortably on her upper thigh. Cuddled together, Alex felt her heart swell with happiness.

She steered while Astra controlled the speed. By the second lap, they were in first place.

* * *

_*pop music playing in the background of these short scenes like a movie montage*_

Alex groaned as she walked into the lab at the DEO, a five-course meal set up. J’onn had his arms crossed over his chest. “Maxwell Lord wanted to see you again today.”

_For the fifth time in two days._

“Can we please make him disappear?” Alex nearly whined.

\--

No one was even surprised anymore when the lady beast broke free _again_.

Alex, tired of being used as bait suggested: _“Maybe if I go to her instead, she’ll stop trying to escape?”_ Which was why she was filling out paperwork on the floor in the alien’s holding cell.

Alex looked up when the monster began moving her hands, _began signing._

[Barbara.] She introduced herself. [And you are mine.]

\--

While Barbara and Max kept Alex distracted, she happily spent the remainder of her time with Astra. The older woman was unusually affectionate and attentive; it was adorable. But even Kara had noticed the drastic change in attitude.

“She’s lovesick, Alex.” Kara groaned. “It’s weird.”

“I kinda like it.” Alex admitted with a grin.

\--

Alex picked up her phone vibrating on Kara’s coffee table. “Danvers.”

“Finally.” Max’s voice breathed out.

“No.” She answered before pressing the red button.

She blocked the number. She had blocked 20 numbers by now…

“Lord again?” Kara asked, putting down a red uno card.

“Yep.” Alex replied in a bored tone.

Astra slapped down a draw 4. “He does not seem deterred in the least.”

Alex shook her head picking up the cards. Kara put down another card with a declaration of “Uno.”

“I do not enjoy battling him for your affection, but-“

Alex leaned into her touch. “Trust me, he’s not even a contender.”

Astra swooned while Kara gagged and threw down her last card. “Can you two _not.”_

\--

“Why now?” Alex asked one night as they ate some half-burnt meal they had tried to cook together. Domesticity suited them. But she had her doubts as to why this amazing woman, the bravest General on Krypton and Earth, would find _her_ interesting.

Astra smiled, the easy going smile that made Alex’s heart skip a beat, that made her feeling like Astra really _saw_ her. “I suppose the timing? With Myriad destroyed, we have less to argue about.” Astra got up and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “And I could not hide my feelings any longer.”

\--

“Should I be jealous?” Astra asked, sitting on Alex’s lab table. “You often take your second break to spend time with the Beta Khund that is quite fond of you.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Barbara just wanted someone to talk to.”

Astra hummed like she didn’t believe it. Alex burned at the thought of Astra’s jealousy. Still, the need to soothe her fears (however irrational cause Barbara _scared_ her a little) Alex walked over and put a hand on Astra’s knee.

“Don’t be jealous General.”

Astra huffed. “Our courtship is new and-“ Astra stopped at Alex’s laugh

“First, never say courtship again.” Alex laughed again, “And second…” She bit her lip, eyes crinkled. “You never told me we were dating.”

Astra looked appalled for a moment. Alex watched her eyes frantically dart back and forth as she tried to remember something.

“Surely I must have asked you…” Astra couldn’t find any memory and Alex watched her get up from the table and dig through her own desk that Henshaw had set her up with.

 _Dating for Dummies_ was slapped out on the table. “How did I skip the very first step?” Astra asked herself, flipping through the heavily highlighted and sticky note covered book.

Alex actually snorted. Astra had put all that effort into learning human etiquette on dating. Alex leaned over Astra’s desk and with a hand on Astra’s chin, tilted her head up. She leaned over and kissed her.

She heard the metal of the desk strain under Astra’s grip on the desk.

Alex pulled back to rest their foreheads together, “Hey,” With her voice a whisper, she asked, “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Astra lightly headbutted her and kissed her, mumbling “Gladly,” against her lips.

* * *

_*okay pause that pop music, it's already time to get serious*_

Vasquez leaned against Alex’s desk, the food Max had brought filled the room and made her stomach rumble.

“You’re as bad as Astra.” Alex commented on her appetite.

“Speaking of,” Vasquez nudged her with her hip. “You two are _really close_ lately.”

It was a joke, since practically everyone at the DEO knew they were dating. Astra wasn’t one to pause PDA even after getting pointed looks and deep frowns from J’onn.

Alex leaned back, a giddy smile on her face for a second before she schooled her expression. In a fake serious voice, she said “I don’t know what you’re imply Vasquez.”

Vasquez chuckled. “Yeah okay, Danvers.”

She looked around Alex’s desk and noticed the agent was fiddling with a coin as she wrote. “What’s that?”

Alex shrugged. “Alien money.” She held it up to Vasquez.

“Uh, okay.” Vasquez raised an eyebrow. “You’re not one for clutter, Danvers. Why do you have it at work?”

“Oh um.” She finished writing and opened the top drawer. “So, I drunkenly took a couple coins from this fountain when I was in Rome.” She laughed. “I just haven’t taken them home.”

Vasquez’s eyes widened. “Wait.” She gave the coin back quickly. “What?”

“Well like I said, I was drunk.” Alex explained, putting the coin in the drawer and shutting it. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. Venus didn’t strike me down or whatever.”

“Woah, woah. Wait. Danvers, you _stole_ from the Fountain of Love?”

Alex rolled her eyes. “It sounds even cheesier in English.”

She was surprised when Vasquez’s hand gripped her shoulder. “It all makes sense now.”

“What are you talking about?”

Vasquez released her and opened the drawer. “It’s gotta be like this well in my abuela’s town… If you take a coin from the fountain, the owner of the coin falls in love with you.”

“That’s insane!” Alex scoffed.

Vasquez gestured to the food. “Look at how crazy your life has been since you stole those coins.”

Alex frowned. “Max wouldn’t throw a coin into a fountain of _love_.”

“He clearly did.” Vasquez argued. She picked up the note that he always attached to her lunches and asked, “What kind of insufferable jerk would say _‘You’re all I wish for’_ unless he’s under some spell.”

“Disregarding the fact that this means the gods are _real.”_ Alex hesitated, fear striking her as she imagined Jupiter literally striking her down with lightning. “That is just ridiculous!” She shook her head. “So the people just become infatuated?”

“According to legend.” Vasquez confirmed. “Though I don’t think it’s a myth anymore.”

Alex sat back in her seat, clearly disbelieving. “There’s no way…” The three coins taunted her. The logical part of her didn’t think that was possible but-

“You gotta return the coins to Venus. I didn’t believe in shit like that either, but _Max_ bothering you all of a sudden. And that _does_ explain the lady beast’s obsession with you.”

_But that meant… was Astra the third person?_

Alex gasped. “Holy fuck…”

 _Astra was under Venus’s spell._ Her heart ached at the thought.

Vasquez winced when she caught up with Alex’s train of thought. “Oh no.”

Alex buried her head in her hands, “Fuck, that makes sense.” As soon as she had picked up the coin, Astra had been there...

The tightness in her chest wouldn’t ease up as she thought about _Astra_ and how they were doing so well. How much she _adored_ the other woman.

_And Astra’s feelings weren’t even real._

Alex inhaled a deep shuttering breath. _Her own girlfriend_ didn’t even like her. “No, no. That’s a sick joke…”

It sounded exactly like the gods’ sense of humor.

She felt Vasquez’s hand rub her back. “Easy Danvers. She could still fall in love with you once the spell is broken.”

“Or she could never speak to me again.” Her voice was hard. She looked up, eyes misty, mourning a love she felt she already lost. Her jaw hurt from the pressure of clenched teeth.

“We’ll get you on the next jet over to Italy.” Vasquez assured.

“Thanks…” Alex grumbled. “Tell Astra I’m busy if she comes looking for me.”

“Yeah, of course.” Vasquez patted her shoulder before she exited the lab, leaving Alex to her thoughts.

Every moment Alex had shared with Astra... They had meant something to her, but clearly not to Astra; not if she was being controlled by _magic._ The gods were cruel. But Alex supposed it was a fitting punishment for her crime.

Pulling out her phone, she googled the fountain of love and was reading up on the myths. Everything was pretty vague, but there seemed to be another way out of the situation…

“Good news, Danvers!” Vasquez burst in not even five minutes later. “You’ve been assigned recon in Rome and your flight leaves in three hours.”

Alex blinked, “That was fast.”

“Henshaw was surprisingly easy to convince…”

“I’ve been reading on the fountain of love,” Alex said, pressing a button to turn off her phone. “And I found one site mentioned returning the coins to their owners could reverse the spell.”

Vasquez pulled a face. “That’s awkward. And how do you know which coin belongs to who?”

“That would be shitty if it didn’t break the spell cause I gave the person the wrong coin…” Alex thought out loud. “Only one way to test the theory though.”

Vasquez called out in the hallway. “You’re still going to Rome!”

\--

Alex walked into Barbara’s cell.

[You’re early.]

Alex nodded, getting straight to the point. [Have you been to Rome, Italy?]

Barbara’s eyes narrowed. [The ruins, yes?]

Alex fished into her pockets and held it out in her palm. The coins glinted and Barbara stood, towered inside the glass. Her eyes flashed. [The gold one.]

Alex put the other two in her pocket, thinking _that was easy._ [You wanted love?]

Barbara’s face was unreadable. [I mourned my mate that night. Your goddess looked merciful.]

Alex would argue that claim. [I am sorry.]

She opened the door, knowing it would alert Henshaw. She put the gold coin in Barbara’s huge hand and a gold energy rose from the metal.

Alex was mesmerized for all of two seconds before Barbara’s talons dug into her forearm.

_Oh shit, guess the spell is broken._

Alex tore her arm away, skin peeled back painfully from the beast’s nails. But she slammed the cage’s door close with her shoulder just as Henshaw and Reynolds burst in guns at the ready. Barbara pounded her fists uselessly against the glass behind Alex.

“What the hell Danvers?” Henshaw was beside her and inspecting her arm. He shook his head and growled, “Get to the med bay.”

\--

Astra strode into the med bay two minutes later. “Alexandra?”

Her human sat on the examination table as the doctor inspected her arm. Astra went to stand on the other side of her and she reached out to push back her short hair, but Alex flinched back. Astra pulled away, confused as to why Alex didn’t want to be comforted. And when Alex refused to meet her eyes, keeping her focus on the doctor, Astra felt a little hurt.

Meanwhile, Alex felt her heartache blossom, knowing Astra’s concern was because of the spell she was under. This Astra wasn’t the real Astra.

“I’m fine.” She lied.

The Kryptonian straightened, her hands fisted by her side to keep from reaching out when Alex pulled a pained face from the disinfectant. Alex hadn’t realize how free Astra was with affection, how happily she sought to touch her until Astra _didn’t_.

The tension in the room was thick, even the doctor looked uncomfortable. Finally Alex sighed and looked at Astra. “I need to talk to Lord tonight.”

Astra made a face, “Very well.”

Alex was bandaged up and she stood in front of Astra, willing herself to be strong. “Then I have a mission, but we need to talk… Eventually.”

“I would prefer to talk about whatever is bothering you _now_ , but I can wait.”

\--

“So you finally had a change of heart, Agent Danvers.” Max invited her in. He offered her a glass of wine which she gratefully accepted.

“Not exactly, Max.” She was _really_ looking forward to not having to deal with him.

They walked through his house to the back deck and he pulled out her chair. Their view of the sunset on the ocean was beautiful. The waves crashed and honestly it would’ve been serene, except Max was awkwardly staring her down.

She shook her head and pulled the penny out of her pocket, grinning in spite of the situation. “It’s funny.” She started, “I didn’t think you were a sap.”

Max leaned back in his chair, confident. “For the right person.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not her.”

“Isn’t that my call, Agent Danvers?”

She glared at his attitude. “No and shut up.” She held the penny between them. “There is something to be said about you throwing a _penny_ into the fountain of love though.” Max looked guilty, so she guessed. “You don’t value love, but you want it?”

He shrugged. “Maybe all I had was a penny.”

Alex snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“It was five years ago Danvers, why do you care about wishing in fountains?”

She nodded at him and he held out his hand with a sigh. Alex dropped the penny in his palm. This time a silver spark shot up as the spell broke.

He flinched back, but his eyes were narrowed in observation. “The hell was that?” When he looked back up at her that annoyingly soft expression was gone and she smiled in relief.

 _It would hurt like hell to see Astra go through that awakening._

“Magic, I guess…” Alex didn’t really want to explain what had happened. She sighed and looked at her watch. “I’ve got a plane to catch.”

He stood with her and he looked mildly embarrassed. “Hey, um. What I said in all those notes-“

“Never happened.” Alex agreed with a curt nod and then she downed her drink.

“Good luck, Agent Danvers.”

\--

After the flight and a quick taxi to the fountain…

Alex glared at the statue of Venus.  “I know I fucked up, but making Astra fall in love with me? Giving me exactly what I wanted only for it not to be real?” She felt like she was drowning. “That’s messed up...”

“Alex!” Astra descended from the sky again, she looked _pissed_. “I was expecting you home hours ago! I had to call J’onn and coerce him into telling me where you went.”

“I’m sorry.” She avoided eye contact, still looking at Venus.

The Kryptonian crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. “What is going on with you, Alexandra?”

“I-“ Alex blew out a breath and ran a hand threw her hair. She had come all this way to avoid _telling_ Astra what had happened- to avoid watching her reaction when the spell was broken, but she just had to be _difficult_ about this. “I made a mistake and stole some coins from this fountain,”

“I am aware.” Astra moved to stand in front of her, “Were you feeling that guilty about petty theft?”

Alex sighed, “This is going to sound absolutely crazy… but stealing the coin caused you and Max and Barbara to fall in love with me.”

“I do not follow,”

Alex groaned, she was doing a shit job of explaining this. “It’s some spell-“

“What are you talking about, Alexandra?” Astra reached out, wanting to grab Alex’s chin and make her _look_ at her, but the human stepped back.

“You’re under a fucking spell, Astra! This isn’t real! What you feel for me isn’t real cause I took your coin and Venus decided to put you under a spell and-“ _And make me fall in love with you. Let me have a nice relationship with you only for it to be ripped away…_ Alex bit her lip and deflated. “But it doesn’t matter.”

She flicked the coin back in the fountain and the water shined a bright blue before returning to normal. She turned away, she couldn’t handle seeing Astra’s face.

But Astra stepped closer and put a hand on Alex’s forehead. “Are you well?”

“No.”

She smiled. “Clearly…” Her hand fell from Alex’s forehead and cupped her cheek. Brown eyes _finally_ looked at her. “Alexandra, I was not under the influence of magic. I did not throw a coin into this water.” She raised an eyebrow, “I do not understand why someone would…”

“What?”

“My feelings for you have not altered as you thought they would. I still love you.” And any nervousness Astra had about saying _those words_ too soon like her helpful book had warned her about vanished at Alex’s relieved and elated grin.

Alex couldn’t help but launched herself into Astra’s arms. “Oh, thank fuck.” She felt strong arms wrap around her and she squeezed the alien tighter. “Did you really mean it?”

“Yes,” She laughed, “I really meant it.”

Astra suddenly pulled back and Alex looked at her worriedly, panicked. “But I will see you when you complete your mission. I must return home quickly, I believe I left the stove on.”

Alex stopped her with an urgent kiss. When she stepped back, she smiled at Astra’s dazed look and said, “By the way, I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Meanwhile…
> 
> J’onn fell to his knees in the middle of the DEO headquarters, head bowed. After a week of disturbing thoughts about his adoptive daughter, the curse lifted. “Finally.”
> 
> *roll credits, more pop music*


End file.
